A blog about my gardening experiences

The Old Scotsman

My father in law turned eighty this year. One of the remarkable things about him is his love for gardening. He started when he was 11 and over the years has amassed a wealth of knowledge and experience. This garden was started sometime in 1969 just after he moved down to England from Scotland. While autumn is not probably the best time to photograph his garden it still has so much colour that for a novice gardener like me I can only envy.

I think one of the things that strikes me most about his garden is its character. It’s definitely not a ‘type’ of garden the average person would choose, but like the man, underneath the exterior lie many hidden gems.

I’ve always been fascinated each time I visit to see what the front garden looks like. Something of interest is always growing and this October was no different. There are beautiful cyclamens dotting the doorstep in pots, as well as begonias, bushes of fuschia, climbing roses on the wall, clematis Tangutica and a whole host of other plants.

Geraniums

Cyclamens in pots

Pink Fuschia

Yellow Roses

Potted plants dot the entrance

Walking through to the back garden what hits you first and I don’t mean literally is the mass of foliage.

Aerial View

I’m sure there are over 100 plants in the garden although he might argue more. I know the garden has changed so much over the years primarily to keep his interest up.

He seems to have one little project going on all the time. Last year he decided he was going to have a mini rose garden and he bought dozens of roses to plant in a few spots around the garden. The ‘fernery’ has he describes it is also quite special with about four varieties of ferns planted in several spots

Fennery

Another interesting characteristic of this garden are the many arches that are dotted around the garden.

Arches (Roses, Clematis, Ivy, Conicera , Cottoneaster)

Another of the really nice features are the chairs which are placed around the garden.

Garden Chairs

The sunhouse is also a great spot to enjoy the garden, read a book and watch the many birds that flock in to feed on the bird food and berries that are in abundance in his garden

Every nook and cranny has some hidden treasures and I particularly love seeing the hardy geraniums still flowering at the end of October

Geranium lilac

Cosmos

This garden is old and strong like its owner, the old Scotsman like I’ve called him. I admire him for his dogged refusal to give up, to keep going, to keep trying new ideas and keep learning. I hope someday I’ll know as much as he does about plants and while I don’t always agree or listen to all of his suggestions or ideas I can’t argue with the evidence I see. A truly beautiful garden.

An excellent write up about a great Scotsman that I admire in many ways. It was my great privilege to mention his love for plants at his 80th Birthday thanksgiving and how he treats his visitors to a tour of the Garden Center for a nice meal and see the plants on display of course!

Your father-in-law’s garden sounds and looks amazing. I love arches and have wanted to put one up in my garden. Maybe next year I’ll put a trellis arch up.
I think it’s wonderful when someone his age continues to pursue his interest.
Popped over to thank you for following my blog.

Thank You!! I think when you get to eighty you have to find something that motivates you and helps you get out of bed and for him it’s his garden. A trellis arch sounds like a really good idea for your garden. All the best in in your gardening.